Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is a 10 Lesson Series; the first one is the easiest and they become increasingly difficult until the tenth one.

The theme remains the same for all of the lessons, however. Students have to ask their partner questions by inserting the missing verbs. There are 22 questions per worksheet and students only have three minutes to complete all of the questions and answers.

After a couple of tries, most students will be able to do all of the questions in three minutes, and when they do, they’ll feel very accomplished.

Present Tense with Regular Questions

There are 22 questions on each worksheet for a total of 44 questions. The goal is to have the students, working in pairs, ask and answer all of the questions within three minutes.

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Is… Are… Do… and Does… .

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

What _____ your shoe size?
_____ you prefer summer or winter?
How long _____ it take you to come here?

 

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is a 10 Lesson Series; the first one is the easiest and they become increasingly difficult until the tenth one.

The theme remains the same for all of the lessons, however. Students have to ask their partner questions by inserting the missing verbs. There are 22 questions per worksheet and students only have three minutes to complete all of the questions and answers.

After a couple of tries, most students will be able to do all of the questions in three minutes, and when they do, they’ll feel very accomplished.

The missing present and past tense verbs are: is, are, do, does, and can - These Lesson Worksheets were developed to assist students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

Regular and Past Tense Questions

There are 22 questions on each worksheet for a total of 44 questions. The goal is to have the students, working in pairs, ask and answer all of the questions within three minutes.

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Was… Did… and Were… .

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

Where _____ you buy yours shoes?
_____ you asleep by midnight last night?
What _____ your favorite toy as a child?

 

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Past and Present Tense Verbs withRegular Questions

Don't let the title lure you into believing that this lesson only takes three minutes! On their first attempt, students usually need ten minutes (or more) to run through the interview. On their second attempt, they'll cut that time in half and eventually, they'll be able to finish the interview within the correct amount of time.

With only three minutes to complete all 22 questions per worksheet, students have to ask the questions quickly by inserting the missing verbs. Partners have to listen carefully as well.

Here are some sample questions (with missing verbs) from the worksheets:

What _____ you doing at 8:00 this morning?

  _____ you usually remember your dreams?

    What _____ you do last night?

      _____ you more afraid of spiders or snakes?

The missing present and past tense verbs are: is, are, do, does, was, were, and did. Once students complete all of the questions (and answers) in three minutes, they'll feel very accomplished. This worksheet was developed to assist students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

There are similar activities:
  3-Minute Interviews 1 ~ 10 (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lessons 1a ~ 1j)

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Present Tense Verbs with Tag Questions

There are 22 questions on each worksheet for a total of 44 questions. The goal is to have the students, working in pairs, ask and answer all of the questions within three minutes.

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Is… / Isn’t… Are… / Aren’t…  Do… / Don’t…  Does… / Doesn’t… and Can… / Can’t.

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

Your birthday _____ in February, ____ ___?
You _____ usually go to bed before 9:30, _____ _____?
You _____ over 20 years old ____ _____?

 

 

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Past Tense Verbs with Tag Questions

Pairs of students need to work fast to ask and answer 22 simple past tense tag questions (per worksheet) in only three minutes. But there’s a catch.

All of the target verbs have been removed from the worksheets - students need to quickly insert the (correct) missing verbs. No time to think! Listening is vital for both interviewer and interviewee.

The first time through, pairs may need more than ten minutes to complete 22 questions. But they will cut the time in half and more after a couple of tries. When they do, they’ll smile with accomplishment.

The missing past tense verbs are: was, wasn’t, were, weren’t, did, didn’t, could and couldn’t.

These Lesson Worksheets were developed to assist students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

You _____ eat any pizza last Friday, _____ ____?
You _____ swimming an hour ago, _______ _____?
It _____ take you 2 hours to come here today, ____ _____?

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Past and Present Tense Verbs with Tag Questions

The goal of this activity is for Student A to ask Student B the 22 tag questions printed on the worksheet within three (3) minutes.

But there’s a catch. All of the main verbs have been removed from the questions. They are printed at the bottom of the worksheet. For example, the first question printed on Worksheet A is:

Your name _____ Chris, ________ ______?

Student A looks at the bottom of Worksheet A and chooses the missing past or present verb from those printed. They are: is, isn’t, are, aren’t, was, wasn’t, were, weren’t, do, don’t, does, doesn’t, did and didn’t.

Student A then asks: Your name is Chris, isn’t it? -OR- Your name isn’t Chris, is it?

Student B replies with either Yes, it is. -OR- No, it isn’t.

The first time through the 22 questions may take much longer than three minutes. But speed will dramatically increase on the second (and third) time so that Student A can accomplish the goal within three minutes. This activity assists students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, working with pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

Roses _____ make you sneeze, _____ ____?
Your last name _____ have the letter “S”, _______ _____?
These tag questions _____ difficult, ____ _____?

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Present Tense Verbs with Regular and Tag Questions

Working in pairs, students interview each other by asking regular and tag questions as quickly as possible by inserting the missing verbs.There are 22 questions on each worksheet for a total of 44 questions.

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Is... / Isn't... Are... / Aren't... Do... / Don't... and Does... / Doesn't... .

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

You _____ usually put sugar in your tea, ____ ___?

_____ your blood type A, B, AB or O?

_____ you an optimistic person?

This lesson Worksheet was developed to assist students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Past Tense Verbs with Regular and Tag Questions

There are 22 regular and tag questions per worksheet. With only three minutes to complete all, students have to insert the missing verbs and ask the questions quickly. Both interviewer and interviewee have to listen carefully as well.

The first time through, pairs of students may need ten minutes or more to complete all of the questions. But, after a couple of tries, most students will be able to do all of the questions in three minutes, and when they do, they’ll feel very accomplished.

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Was… / Wasn’t…  Were… / Weren’t…  Did… / Didn’t…  and Could… / Couldn’t…

These Lesson Worksheets were developed to assist students with fundamental verb usage, building fluency, listening, pronouns and subject / verb agreement.

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

You _____ born with red hair, _____ _____?
How often _____ you oversleep last month?
_____ you a good or a bad child?

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Past and Present Tense Verbs with Regular and Tag Questions

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Is… / Isn’t… Are… / Aren’t…  Was… / Wasn’t…  Were… / Weren’t…  Do… / Don’t…  Does… / Doesn’t…and Did… / Didn’t… .

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

What color _____ your best friend’s eyes?
Your English teacher _____ wear a wig, _____ ___?
_____ you busy or not so busy yesterday ?

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS-Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Mixed Tenses and Gerunds with Regular and Tag Questions

Students must provide the missing verb of each question (they are not printed) by choosing from the following: Is… / Isn’t… Are… / Aren’t…  Was… / Wasn’t…  Were… / Weren’t…  Do… / Don’t…  Does… / Doesn’t…and Did… / Didn’t… .

The following are some of the questions found on these worksheets:

_____ rainy Mondays give you the blues?
Watching boxing _____ excite you, _____ ___?
_____ we laughing a few minutes ago?

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Time: 45+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Talk about being clumsy! Students will be falling, tripping, stumbling, slicing, banging, smashing, poking, spilling, kicking, dropping, bumping, crashing, slipping their way to a whole lot of fun!

In small groups, students roll a die and move their marker to one of the squares. It may say: "Tripped in the bathtub," or "Slipped on a banana peel."

During the game, students collect injury points (this is not good) but they may also have a chance to visit the hospital (this is good).

They'll be so busy falling off things, smashing and stepping into things that they won't realize that they are working with past tense verbs and lots of new vocabulary.

There's a similar lesson called:

Aches & Pains (See Lesson 02b below).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

This is one of my all time favorite lessons! Students pick up all kinds of vocabulary about sickness and health in the course of this game.

They string together causes:

I ate too much candy and effects

and now I have a toothache.

Throughout the course of this game, students acquire a list of ailments including:

a stuffed nose
a tickling cough
watery eyes
a stomach ache
the hiccups and dozens more!

The object of the game is to cross the finish line, but almost everyone crossing that line will be full of Aches and Pains!

There's a similar lesson called Accident Prone (See Lesson 02a above).

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Time: 20+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

This lesson can be used for just about anything - vocabulary development, verb practice, sentence construction ---- you decide how to use the dice.

Students make their own dice, either four, six, *eight or *ten-sided, using the templates from the worksheets Then, depending on what element of English the students need to learn, review or practice, words can be written on the dice and used in an almost limitless number of games.

This lesson is not only for kids! Adults will have a really fun time, too. Getting students physically involved with language learning is very important to help them learn naturally.

Some suggestions as to how to use these dice:
      • Vocabulary builders
      • Category games (fruits, vegetables, countries, etc.)
      • Truth or Dare game
      • Progressive Story Telling (each student adds a word or phrase to a story)
      • Commanding classmates to do things (sing a song, run to the blackboard, etc.)
      • Time or Date practice (8:30am, 9:46pm, last month, two weeks ago, etc.)
      • Jeopardy - students write answers and others come up with the questions
      • Two-word verb practice
    Literally hundreds of other ways to use these dice!!
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Time: 15+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

This is another "psychology test," in which students have to choose among four things that occur at the same time - each with their own "psychological" interpretation. Using the conditional use of "would" to make their choices, students then explain the reasons behind their choices.

There are four situations illustrated on the worksheet. 1) The phone is ringing. 2) Someone is at the door. 3) The baby's crying (and needs attention). 4) It's starting to rain and the clothes are getting wet.

Since everything begins to occur at the same time, students must decide what they would do first, second, third and fourth. Each situation has a "psychological interpretation."

No one can remain complacent while doing this lesson. After prioritizing one's choices and learning the hidden "psychological" meanings, students are guaranteed to strongly agree or disagree with the results. To do this, they'll have to use English!!

This lesson is a wonderful ice-breaker or wrap up at the end of a class. Everyone will have an opinion, about themselves and their classmates. A very fun and natural generator of conversation.

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Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small Group Activity

Remember the old Tarzan movies? Tarzan, the Ape Man, was raised in the jungles of Africa by apes. He never really learned how to speak English very well, although he could converse with the animals.

One day he met Jane, a beautiful British lass, and they fell madly in love (and eventually marry). But even in this romantic story, Tarzan cannot use pronouns very well, e.g.: Me Tarzan.

He's terrible with verbs, often simply omitting them altogether She Jane, and forget about articles, prepositions, indefinite pronouns, plural nouns, relative clauses, well... just about every other element of correct English.

These worksheets have the students assisting Tarzan with the captions in his photo album - and the students help Tarzan with his English!

Beginning with Me Tarzan, students write something like: I am Tarzan or My name is Tarzan in the photo album. This is a marvelous lesson for students to review all of the basic structures of simple English grammar, and they will have a lot of fun doing it, too!

Higher ability students could be encouraged to do a little research about the history of Tarzan then write the captions using relative clauses. For example: This is Tarzan, the man whose parents were killed when he was a baby and who was raised by apes in Africa. Back to Top

Time: 50+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This multi-tasked activity is better adapted to intermediate or above students, nevertheless, it's an excellent lesson to stimulate discussion, learn new vocabulary, agree or disagree with each other, practice comparatives (and superlatives) and share experiences.

Each unit has a pair of synonymous words, for example worried and concerned.

Students first discuss the meaning (and give examples of the words), then they compare the two words for differences in meaning. Finally, they are asked to rank the two words in order of strength.

Once done, students ask follow-up questions using the two words to elicit information about their partner's experiences. For example:

Student A: What makes you feel worried?
Student B: Not doing well on my exams makes me feel worried.
Student A: What do you do when you are worried?
Student B: I usually eat a lot... Etc.

For a similar style lesson, see:

Confused OR Perplexed (See 6b below).

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Time: 50+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

The synonymous adjectives on these worksheets are slightly more difficult than in 6a above. Even though advanced students will be challenged with this lesson, lower-ability students can still enjoy this lesson as long as they are equipped with a dictionary.

In pairs, students discuss, learn new vocabulary, agree or disagree with each other, practice comparatives (and superlatives) and share experiences.

As with 6a above, each unit has a pair of synonymous words, for example impulsive and spontaneous.

Students first discuss the meaning (and give examples of the words), then they compare the two words for differences in meaning. Finally, they are asked to rank the two words in order of strength.

Once done, students ask follow-up questions using the two words to elicit information about their partner's experiences. For example:

Student A: Do you think you are impulsive?
Student B: I think I'm more spontaneous than impulsive.
Student A: Who is the most impulsive person you know?
Student B: Probably my uncle is the most impulsive person I know... Etc.

For a similar style lesson, see:

Worried OR Confused (See 6a above).

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Time: 20+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small Group Activity

Tom Swifties" are odd sentences that play upon adverbs to give a humorous and unique stress on the action of the sentence.

Look at this sentence:

"This knife is pretty sharp," Tom said pointedly.

Or another example:

"My wheels have been stolen," Tom said tirelessly.

Once students catch on to this style of writing, they'll have a lot of fun creating their own Tom Swifties.

There are 10 sentences on the worksheet. (At the bottom, there are 10 adverbs listed which are the answers to the partner's sentences.) In pairs (groups or as a whole class), students try to match the most appropriate adverbs to the sentences.

For a similar style lesson, see:

More Tom Swifties (See 7b below).

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Time: 20+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small Group Activity

If your students enjoyed the Tom Swifties lesson (Lesson Collection Set #2, Lesson 7) - see above, they're sure to love this one, too. Just more wacky Tom Swifties.

Here are a few from the worksheet:

Someone has stolen my wheels, he said tirelessly.

Who made this coffee? It's terrible, he said bitterly.

I have to visit the cemetery tomorrow, he said gravely.

Tom Swifties are an excellent way to have a little fun while working with adverbs. Once students catch on, they will probably be throwing Tom Swifties around for weeks!

For a similar style lesson, see:
Tom Swifties (see 7a above)
Tom Swifties Plus (see 7c below) -and-
Tom Swifties (non-adverbs) (see 7d below).
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Time: 30+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small Group Activity

If your students enjoyed the Tom Swifties lessons (see above) they will probably enjoy these, too. But be careful, these are really pretty challenging, even with the answers given, some students may not understand.

Here are a few from the worksheet:

I shouldn't have fed that alligator, he said offhandedly.
I can see myself in this pond, he said reflectively.
I hit the baseball through your window, he said painlessly.

Tom Swifties are an excellent way to have a little fun while working with adverbs. Once students catch on, they will probably be throwing Tom Swifties around for weeks!

For a similar style lessons, see:

Tom Swifties (See 7a and 7b above).

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Time: 30+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small Group Activity

These "Tom Swifties" do not use adverbs; instead, they play upon verbs and nouns to create the humor in the sentences.

Look at this sentence:

"My hair is falling out," Tom bawled.

"bawled" is, of course, a verb - but it is also pronounced the same as "bald," thus making the sentence funny.

Or another example:

"I'm not the host, you are," Tom guessed.

"guessed" is a verb - but it is also pronounced the same as "guest." In this sentence, Tom claims that he is not the host, therefore, he must be the guest.

Once students catch on to this style of writing, they'll have a lot of fun creating their own Tom Swifties.

There are 10 sentences on each worksheet with answers to the partner's Tom Swifties listed at the bottom. In pairs, students try to match the most appropriate adverbs to the sentences.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

A great pair work activity to practice adverbs and adverbial phrases of frequency. Students will also use first person and third person. The lesson has two worksheets.

This is a double (or even triple) pair work activity where students first ask each other "Do you ever...?" questions. This is followed by "How often do you...?" questions and finally there is a "How often is...?" question.

For example,

Q:"Do you ever eat junk food?"
A:"Yes, I do."
Q:"How often do you eat junk food?"
A:"I occasionally eat junk food."
Q:"How often is occasionally?"
A:"I eat junk food three or four times a month."

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

A very practical and fun pair work activity to collect information, discuss backgrounds and develop friendships. Students will eventually create an 8-page portfolio with extremely detailed information about one other in class.

In pairs, students ask questions about their partner's background in order to collect a whole lot of information which will eventually compose a detailed Personal Profile.

But this is only the beginning - there are a total of eight (8) worksheets that will complete the Personal Profile lesson.

Little by little, students will build an extensive profile of their partner including information about his/her birth, education, family, travel experiences, first time experiences, best friends, self-characterization, desires, habits, personal preferences and on and on.

Perhaps the greatest element of this lesson is the natural conversation and discussion that ensues when students start talking about themselves and asking their partner questions.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b below)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c below)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d below)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e below)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f below)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This lesson worksheet focuses on collecting information about Family (siblings) and Extended Family (grandparents).

The first section of Personal Profile 2 concentrates on finding out about partners' relatives starting with brothers and sisters. Here, students ask each other about their siblings, when and where they were born, their occupation, marital status and whether or not their brothers and sisters have children.

    Part two gives students a chance to ask about each others' grandparents including date of birth, hometown and, for a real discussion opener, students give one (or more) memories about their grandparents.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c below)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d below)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e below)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f below)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Pairs of students really get to know each other well through these fun worksheets. There are many variations for this lesson - but the ultimate goal is to get students to talk about themselves and ask each other questions about their personal lives.

In Personal Profile 3, students ask each other about their educational background. They ask about the names and places where they attended school. They also tell each other who their favorite teacher was (is) and why! Finally, each student offers one memory (good or bad) about each of the schools.

In the second part, students talk about jobs, full or part time. The title of their job (waiter, sales, tutor, etc.), the place, the kind of work involved. And, the most fun, they need to relate one memory from that job. Sometimes, this little point will open up all kinds of memories - students often get so involved that they forget they're discussing in English!

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d below)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e below)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f below)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Personal Profile 4 is a great discussion starter. Students talk about their travel experiences, both domestic and foreign. They ask each other when they took the trip, how long they stayed and the purpose for going. Students often get so involved that they start asking all kinds of questions not even written on the worksheet. That's great!

Also, students talk about one memory from each travel experience. These memories are often hilarious.

In the second part, students talk about their best and worst travel experiences. Sometimes, this will open up all kinds of memories. Students often get so involved that they forget they're discussing in English!

Perhaps the greatest element of this lesson is the natural conversation and discussion that ensues when students start talking about themselves and asking their partner questions.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c above)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e below)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f below)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)
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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

These lessons continue the Personal Profile series. Together, there are eight (8) worksheets in this lesson and they can be worked on a little at a time, spread out over several months.

Worksheet #5 is comprised of three sections in which students discuss their First Time Experiences. For example,
What is your first (earliest) memory?
Tell me about your first bicycle.
Do you remember your first pet?
Tell me about your first day at school.

Section 2 is about Growing Up Firsts. Students ask each other questions such as:
When did you have your first crush?
Who was your first boy / girlfriend?
When was your first date?
Tell me about your first kiss.

Section 3 is about Later Firsts including First Job, First Car and First Apartment.

Note: Younger learners can discuss their future using will or going to. This naturally involves their hopes and dreams and is therefore a marvelous way to get them talking!

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c above)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d above)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f below)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Personal Profile 6 focuses on discussion about Best Friends from elementary school up to the present. Students give names, tell two (or more) things they did together and talk about the best friends' best and worst traits. Before moving on, students also discuss if the best friends are married, where they currently live, last contact with them and one final comment (memory, news, etc.,).

The last section of the worksheet encourages students to concentrate on one special memory of any of the best friends. This simple question often turns into an animated discussion. Students always like to talk about themselves, and when the topic is interesting, partners are hungry to hear more.

Perhaps the greatest element of this lesson is the natural conversation and discussion that ensues when students start talking about themselves and asking their partner questions.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c above)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d above)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e above)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g below)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)
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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

The seventh worksheet in this series is a collection of miscellaneous topics. Section one asks students to discover personality traits about their partner's character. There are check boxes for students to record their partner's admissions. How moody is the partner? How lazy? How many close friends do they have? Are they optimistic or pessimistic? There are ten questions about one's personality in this section.

    The second section allows students to talk about things they would like to change about themselves. There are three areas discussed: life, body and home. These statements begin with: "If I could change one thing about my . . . ." Sometimes this discussion is serious, sometimes not. It becomes especially interesting when students ask why? as well.

    The last section isn't as intense but remains fun. They have a chance to ask each other about good and bad habits, old and new.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c above)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d above)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e above)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f above)
Personal Profile #8 (See Lesson 09h below)
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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Personal Profiles #8 offers a long list of favorites (and least favorites for superlative practice!) including favorite TV program, favorite band and favorite place in the house. There are sixteen questions from color, food, sport to watch, kind of music, season and movie star. But it shouldn't end with a simple statement. Each one can lead to a fun discussion about why that thing or person is one's favorite or least favorite.

The final section asks about collections, two items previously collected, and one item collected now. As usual, students will become involved in learning about their partner's collections. At times, the discoveries are precious.

There are seven additional worksheets in this series. They are:

Personal Profile #1 (See Lesson 09a above)
Personal Profile #2 (See Lesson 09b above)
Personal Profile #3 (See Lesson 09c above)
Personal Profile #4 (See Lesson 09d above)
Personal Profile #5 (See Lesson 09e above)
Personal Profile #6 (See Lesson 09f above)
Personal Profile #7 (See Lesson 09g above)
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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

The following 6 worksheets encourage pairs or groups of students to work together to think of 6 (or more) words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. Students work together to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Kinds of drinks. The chosen letter might be "C." Students try to think of any kind of drink that begins with the letter "C," i.e., Cocktail, Coke, Cola, Coors, Champagne, Crush, Coffee, etc.

Another example topic might be: City names. The chosen letter might be "D." Students try to think of city names that begin with the letter "D," i.e., Denver, Detroit, Davenport, Dartmouth, Dublin, etc.

There are nine categories to choose from on this worksheet. By choosing a different target letter each time, students can compete against each other over and over. A very fun lesson.

There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #2 (See Lesson 10b below)
List It! #3 (See Lesson 10c below)
List It! #4 (See Lesson 10d below)
List It! #5 (See Lesson 10e below)
List It! #6 (See Lesson 10f below).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Students work together in pairs or small groups to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Soft things. The chosen letter might be "T." Students try to think of soft things that begin with the letter "T," i.e., Towel, Tissue, Tears, Tomato, Taffy, Tulip, Tofu, etc.

Another example topic might be: Animals with four legs. The chosen letter might be "P." Students try to think of four-legged animals that begin with the letter "P," i.e., Puma, Panda, Panther, Puppy, Poodle, Pig, etc.

There are nine categories to choose from on this worksheet. By choosing a different target letter each time, students can compete against each other over and over. A very fun lesson. There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #1 (See Lesson 10a above)
List It! #3 (See Lesson 10c below)
List It! #4 (See Lesson 10d below)
List It! #5 (See Lesson 10e below)
List It! #6 (See Lesson 10f below)

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Students work together in pairs or small groups to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Boy's names. The chosen letter might be "J." Students try to think of any boy names that begin with the letter "J," i.e., Jack, Jason, Jim, John, Jay, Jamie, Jeremy, etc.

Another example topic might be: Sweet things. The chosen letter might be "S." Students try to think of sweet things that begin with the letter "S," i.e., Soda, Sugar, Strawberry, Summer, Seven-Up, Souffle, etc.

There are nine categories to choose from on this worksheet. By choosing a different target letter each time, students can compete against each other over and over. A very fun lesson. There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #1 (See Lesson 10a above)
List It! #2 (See Lesson 10b above)
List It! #4 (See Lesson 10d below)
List It! #5 (See Lesson 10e below)
List It! #6 (See Lesson 10f below).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Students work together in pairs or small groups to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Something with hair. The chosen letter might be "M." Students try to think of anything with hair that begins with the letter "M," i.e., Mouse, Moose, Man, Mastodon, Mink, mongoose, Mammal, Muskrat, Mole, Mule, Martin, etc.

Another example topic might be: Country names. The chosen letter might be "A." Students try to think of country names that begin with the letter "A," i.e., Austria, Australia, Argentina, America, Algeria, Armenia, etc.

There are nine categories to choose from on this worksheet. By choosing a different target letter each time, students can compete against each other over and over. A very fun lesson. There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #1 (See Lesson 10a above)
List It! #2 (See Lesson 10b above)
List It! #3 (See Lesson 10c above)
List It! #5 (See Lesson 10e below)
List It! #6 (See Lesson 10f below).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Students work together in pairs or small groups to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Word: same first & last letter. The chosen letter might be "E." Students try to think of any word that has the same first and last letter that begins with the letter "E," i.e., Eagle, Elapse, Envelope, Exhale, Enlarge, Enrage, Ewe, etc.

Another example topic might be: Parts of the body. The chosen letter might be "T." Students try to think of body parts that begin with the letter "T," i.e., Tooth, Toenail, Tongue, Temple, Torso, Tibia, Toe, etc.

There are nine categories to choose from on this worksheet. By choosing a different target letter each time, students can compete against each other over and over. A very fun lesson. There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #1 (See Lesson 10a above)
List It! #2 (See Lesson 10b above)
List It! #3 (See Lesson 10c above)
List It! #4 (See Lesson 10d above)
List It! #6 (See Lesson 10f below).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

In pairs or groups, students try to think of 6 (or more) words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Scary Things. The chosen letter might be "H." Students try to think of scary things that begin with the letter "H," i.e., Hurricanes, Homework, Hags, Hell, Hepatitis, Hijackers, etc.

Another example topic might be: Clothing Items. The chosen letter might be "M." Students try to think of clothing items that begin with the letter "M," i.e., Mufflers, Mittens, Moccasins, Mitt, Mantle, etc.

There are 9 topics on this worksheet and each topic has space for 6 answers for a total of 54 possible answers. A great vocabulary builder and a lot of fun as well.

There are five additional worksheets in this series. They are:

List It! #1 (See Lesson 10a above)
List It! #2 (See Lesson 10b above)
List It! #3 (See Lesson 10c above)
List It! #4 (See Lesson 10d above)
List It! #5 (See Lesson 10e above).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Students learn a lot about each other, but not in the traditional sense. In this lesson, students ask and answer questions, BUT three of the answers will NOT be true! Students try to convince their groupmates that they are telling the truth for all of the questions (but everyone knows beforehand that only seven of the ten answers will be true).

Everyone answers 10 questions; seven of them will be true and three of them will be false. In order to detect the true answers from the false ones, students need to closely inspect their group mates' faces, gestures and vocal control in order to tell. They may also want to ask follow-up questions just to be sure.

This is a game, but like poker, keeping a straight face and building a bluff are often more revealing of a person's real character than the actual answers.

Believe Me! is a wonderful activity for students of all ages to use English in a natural and fun way.

There is another similar worksheet. It is:

Believe Me! 2 (See Lesson 11b below).

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Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Similar to the above lesson, but this one includes some Tag Questions. Once students are familiar with the way this lesson works, they're guaranteed to have a good time trying to read the truth or falsity of their group mates' answers.

As with Believe Me! above, seven of the questions will be answered truthfully and three of them will be answered falsely. In order to detect the true answers from the false ones, students will need to closely inspect their group mates' faces, gestures and vocal control. They may also want to ask follow-up questions just to be sure.

Believe Me! and Believe Me! (2) are wonderful lessons for students of all ages to use English in a natural and fun way.

There is another similar worksheet. It is:

Believe Me! (See Lesson 11a above).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Halloween is a great time for parties, visiting haunted houses and listening to (and/or watching) scary ghost stories. This worksheet offers students the chance to create their own really scary ghost stories.

Pairs of students create a ghost story using this worksheet to help them organize their thoughts. It also assists them with how to proceed from simple sentences to easy paragraphs. Using simple past tense verbs, students will be able to improve their storytelling skills with descriptive adverbs and adjectives.

Following the simple outline on the worksheet, students can not only practice their creative writing skills, but there is ample opportunity for them to create the story together which involves discussion, agreeing and disagreeing with each other.

For other Halloween lessons, see:
  Halloween Maze (Holiday Collection Set - Halloween 05a)
  Halloween Word Circle) (Holiday Collection Set - Halloween 05b)
  Trick Or Treat (Holiday Collection Set - Halloween 05c) -and-
  Halloween Crossword Puzzle (Holiday Collection Set - Halloween 05d).

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Time: 45+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Students will practice using phrasal verbs and specific prepositions to compose short sentences in order to describe the process of tying a necktie.

Some of the sentences that they will use to describe the process include:

Cross the short end of the tie over the long end.

Put the long end of the tie up through the loop.

Pull the thick end of the tie down through the front of the loop.

This is a terrific lesson because the students focus on a physical task that requires English.

Although some students may be able to tie a necktie, most likely, few can describe the process in English. This lesson helps with the use of verbs and prepositions.

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Time: 20+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This worksheet was created for beginner-level students. In pairs, students work with opposites or common word pairs of 24 simple nouns such as:

Sun / Moon
Boy / Girl
Autumn / Spring
Male / Female
Teacher / Student -and-
Key / Lock, etc.

This worksheet is a great way to learn or review vocabulary, work with creating simple sentences and working with negatives. It can also be a stimulating competition between pairs or small groups of students.

There are additional worksheets in this series. They are:
  Medium Difficulty Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14b below)
  Difficult Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14c below)
  Easy Verb Opposites (See Lesson 14d below)
  Medium Difficulty Verb Opposites (See Lesson 14e below)
  Easy Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14f below)
  Medium Difficulty Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14g below)

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Lesson 14a above introduces Easy Opposites. This is a continuation of the opposite series. This worksheet contains pairs of medium difficulty noun opposites (and noun pairs) such as:

Credit / Debit
Success / Failure
Attic / Basement
Amateur / Professional -and-
Nephew / Niece.

They are a bit more difficult than the first setIn pairs, students have half of the answers printed on their worksheets. To find the other half, they need to ask their partners questions (if they do not know the opposites).

Knowing noun opposites gives students a larger vocabulary which helps them express themselves better.

.

There are two additional worksheets in this series. They are:
Easy Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14a above) -and-
Difficult Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14c below).

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Time: 45+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Although this lesson is primarily a vocabulary review / development exercise, students with a large vocabulary will probably be challenged a bit with this lesson; students with a small vocabulary will learn lots of new words. Inherently built into this lesson are two important additional elements of practicing English; working with articles (a, an & the) as well as ordinals (1st, 2nd & 3rd).

This lesson is really fun - even for those who don't know the meanings of the words. Students work together to arrive at all of the difficult noun opposites printed on the worksheet. (Each worksheet has half of the answers.)

The pairs of words on the worksheet include:

  Antagonist / Protagonist
  Longitude / Latitude
  Ancestor / Descendant
  Bravery / Cowardice
  Hunter / Prey

There are 28 difficult noun opposites on the worksheet. All of the answers are printed in the Teachers' Instructions.

For similar style lessons:

    Easy Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14a above)
    Medium Difficulty Noun Opposites(See Lesson 14b above)
    Easy Verb Opposites (See Lesson 14d below)
    Mid-Difficulty Verb Opposites (See Lesson 14e below)
    Easy Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14f below) -and-
    Mid-Difficulty Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14g below).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This worksheet is a great way for beginner-level students to review and/or learn easy verb opposites (and pairs). Each student has half the answers. By working together, they can complete all of the 28 simple verb opposites.

The pairs of words on the worksheet include:

  Give / Take
 Stand / Sit
 Laugh / Cry
 Read / Write
 Open / Close -and-
 Push / Pull, etc.

This worksheet is a great way to learn or review vocabulary, work with creating simple sentences and working with negatives. It can also be a stimulating competition between pairs or small groups of students.

For similar style lessons, see:
    Easy Noun Opposites (See Lesson 14a above)
    Medium Difficulty Noun Opposites(See Lesson 14b above)
    Difficult Noun Opposites(See Lesson 14c above)
    Mid-Difficulty Verb Opposites (See Lesson 14e below)
    Easy Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14f below) -and-
    Mid-Difficulty Adjective Opposites (See Lesson 14g below).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Students can easily double their verb vocabulary by learning opposites (and pairs). There are two worksheets. On each, students have half the answers. By working together, they can complete all of the 28 simple verb opposites.

The pairs of words on the worksheet include:

  Lend / Borrow
  Hold / Release
  Accept / Refuse
  Float / Sink
  Succeed / Fail -and-
  Tighten / Loosen, etc.

This worksheet is a great way to learn or review vocabulary, work with creating simple sentences and practice working with negatives and ordinal numbers. It can also be a stimulating competition between pairs or small groups of students.

For similar style lessons:

    Easy Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14a)
    Mid. Difficulty Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14b)
    Difficult Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14c)
    Easy Verb Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14d)
    Easy Adjective Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14f) -and-
    Mid. Difficulty Adjective Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14g).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

In pairs, students ask each other for the missing adjective opposites from their worksheets. This is a fun lesson to improve vocabulary by targeting opposite (and paired) adjectives. On the worksheets, each student has half the answers. By working together, they can complete all of the 28 simple adjective opposites.

The pairs of words on the worksheet include:

  Early / Late
  Sweet / Sour
  Tall / Short
  Cheap / Expensive
  Awake / Asleep -and-
  Open / Closed, etc.

This worksheet is a great way to learn or review vocabulary, work with creating simple sentences, working with negatives and ordinal numbers. It can also be a stimulating competition between pairs or small groups of students.

For similar style lessons:

    Easy Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14a)
    Mid. Difficulty Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14b)
    Difficult Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14c)
    Easy Verb Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14d)
    Mid. Difficulty Verb Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14e) -and-
    Mid. Difficulty Adjective Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14g).

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Time: 45+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

With these two worksheets, students ask each other for the missing opposite adjectives (and/or pairs). Each student has half the answers. By working together, they can complete all of the 28 opposites of mid-difficulty adjectives.

The pairs of words on the worksheet include:

  Polite / Rude
  Vertical / Horizontal
  Urban / Rural
  Fresh / Rotten
  Generous / Stingy -and-
  Optimistic / Pessimistic, etc.

These worksheets are a great way to learn or review vocabulary, work with creating simple sentences and practice working with negatives and ordinal numbers. This lesson can also serve as a stimulating competition between pairs or small groups of students.

For similar style lessons:

    Easy Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14a)
    Mid. Difficulty Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14b)
    Difficult Noun Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14c)
    Easy Verb Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14d)
    Mid. Difficulty Verb Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14e)
    Easy Adjective Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14f) -and-
    Mid. Difficulty Adjective Opposites (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 14g).

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Time: 40+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

A very active and fun board game to practice a variety of English language skills including: spelling, writing, drawing, counting, singing, answering quizzes and giving directions.

This lesson is definitely NOT for teachers who prefer a quiet classroom.

Students play this game in groups. Rolling a die, one student lands on a square and the group mates assign something for her to do. Afterward, the play advances to the next student. The winner is the one who reaches FINISH first - but to get there, she will have to perform various tasks which include:.

DRAW: (Students decide what will be drawn.)

ANSWER A (movie, music, math, history) QUIZ QUESTION: (Students create the questions.)

IMITATE: (Students decide what animal or person will be imitated.)

DRAW: (Students decide what will be drawn.)

SING A SONG: (Students decide.)

SAY: (Students decide.)

SPELL: (Students decide.) Etc.

There are several Safe squares where no task is required - but there are also many Go Back squares which give the players opportunities to re-do previously .

For all of the completed tasks, group mates judge whether or not they were done accurately. If not, the player must move his marker back one square (which may or may not be a good thing). Nevertheless, students will enjoy assigning various tasks to their fellow game players. Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Sports can be confusing; for example, do you play boxing or do boxing or just box? How about tennis, golf and scuba diving?

This lesson helps students use the right form of the sport in a competitive, yet fun way.

This worksheet is a board game where students race against each other while using the phrases:

Let's...

Let's go... ___ing -and-

Let's play... ____ correctly.

There are three racers and three monitors. Each monitor listens for the accuracy of one of the "runners" during the race. If there is a mistake, for example:

Let's play skiing the monitor shouts PIT STOP! and the racer must correct the sentence before continuing the race.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Looking for a lesson that keeps everyone busy or at least half an hour? This is guaranteed to raise the excitement level of your students.

There are four Rambling Stories on this worksheet. In groups of four, students paraphrase one of the stories to another student. Afterward, students re-paraphrase the stories to other students, and again and again until all four students have heard and paraphrased the Rambling Stories.

For lower-ability students, the stories could simply be dictated (great for spelling and pronunciation practice), nevertheless, your classroom will burst with energy (and a lot of noise, too!).

There are similar worksheets:

Ramblings 2 (See Lesson 17b below)
Ramblings 3 (See Lesson 17c below).

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

These four Rambling Stories will keep your students active and excited while building fluency.

Each student, in a group of four, receives one of the Rambling Stories from the worksheet. The student with story #1 (Student #1) dictates the first sentence to Student #2 who writes it down. Meanwhile, Student #3 dictates the first sentence to Student #4 who writes it down. Both Students #1 and #3 continue dictating sentence by sentence to Students #2 and #4 respectively.

Eventually, Students #2 and #4 will have the complete Rambling story written down. Then students reverse roles and now Students #2 and #4 dictate their stories to Students #1 and #3, respectively.

Then students pair up with another so that eventually, all four students will have written down all four of the Rambling Stories.

This lesson is a fun and natural way for students to work on spelling and pronunciation skills.

The teacher's Instructions included with this lesson offer several other ways to do this activity for lower-ability students.

For similar style lessons:
  Ramblings 1 (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 17a) -and-
  Ramblings 3 (Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 17c). Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Each student in a group of four, receives one of the Rambling Stories from the worksheet, A, B, C or D. The student with Rambling Story A dictates (or paraphrases) the story (as printed) to the others who write it verbatim on a piece of notebook paper.

Then the student with Rambling Story B does the same, then Story C and finally Story D. When finished, all students will have three written Rambling Stories.

Finally, students rotate their printed stories among their group mates to self-check for accuracy.

For lower-ability students, the teacher simply dictates the stories - this is a fun and natural way to work on spelling and pronunciation skills.

There are similar worksheets see:
  Ramblings 1 (See Lesson 17a above) -and-
  Ramblings 2 (See Lesson 17b above). Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This fun yet simple pair work activity helps students practice adverbial phrases of frequency.

Students will also be able to practice subject/verb agreement for both first person (First Partner) and third person (Second Partner).

Practicing basic English grammar patterns doesn't have to be boring. This lesson immediately gets students asking each other interesting questions. More times than not, students will automatically branch off into more detailed conversations just to learn more about their partners.

A few of the Do You Ever...? questions are:
Do you ever go to bed after 1:00 am?
Do you ever lose your temper?
Do you ever lend money to people?

A typical Q & A dialogue would go something like this:
Student A: Do you ever talk to strangers?
Student B: Yes, I do.
Student A: How often do you talk to strangers?
Student B: I occasionally talk to strangers.

(Optional Follow-up questions for higher-ability students:)

Student A: When was the last time you talked to a stranger?
Student B: The last time I talked to a stranger was a few days ago. I saw a woman holding a map and she looked confused. I asked her if she needed any help. . . etc.

There are 11 Do You Ever...? questions on each worksheet, plus there's space for students to ask each other one original question. Back to Top

Time: Varies
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

A slightly high-level discussion starter where students discuss values and opinions concerning the characteristics of a couple, first when they are young and in love - second after they have been married for 20 years. The worksheet offers typical opinions young lovers have about each other such as:

"I love him because tells a lot of funny jokes."

Then students try to imagine the same guy twenty years later. His wife might say something like:

"I love him but he has told the same jokes for 20 years."

Or, a young man in love might say this about his girlfriend:

"I love her because she always asks for my opinion."

But after 20 years of marriage, he might say something like:

"I love her but she can never decide anything by herself."

There are descriptions for both the husband and wife - 20 years into their marriage - though no one has changed at all, the perspectives have.

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Time: Varies
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

These simple lists are amazingly useful to stimulate discussion and description through asking and answering questions.

There are 14 lists in total, any one of the lists will produce a vast amount of conversation as students strive to learn as much as they can about another student's experience, memory or opinion.

These lists are not recommended for lower-ability students because of the extreme importance required of asking and answering questions. But with intermediate to higher level ability students, these simple lists are just delightful.

There are 14 lists contained in this lesson:

Three Happy Memories
Three Sad Memories
Three Funny Things
Three Things I'd Like to do Again
Three Things I Wish I Hadn't Done
Three Wishes
Three Of My Best Memories
Three Of My Worst Memories
Three Movies / Books I Really Enjoyed
Three Movies / Books I Didn't Enjoy
Three Things I Want To Do
Three Things I Hope I'll Never Have To Do
Three Things I've Never Told Anyone
Three Things That Changed My Life

The Teacher's Instructions offer suggestions on different ways to use these lists. One of the best ways is to use one list per lesson / week as an icebreaker. Back to Top

Time: Varies
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

Idioms are common in everyday conversations among native English speakers, in movies even in the print media. Students of English often hear them but it's difficult to discover their meanings since many dictionaries do not offer definitions.

There are six worksheets with a total of 108 idiom cards; they have been carefully selected from the thousands of available idioms because of their 'commonness, interest level and usability' in conversation for English learners.

These cards can be used in pairs, groups or as a whole class activity; the following methods explain several ways in which they can be used:

    Method 1: In groups of four to six, each group is given one set of Idiom Cards.
The cards should be well shuffled and placed in a deck face down. One student takes the top card, shows it to everyone, and the others take turns saying what they 'think' the idiom means.

    Method 2: In groups, each student draws an Idiom Card from the deck and learns its meaning (from the teacher, the internet or an Idiom Dictionary). Students return to their group and one of them shows the idiom to the others. Students ask the owner of the Idiom Card "Does it mean...?" questions; the owner replies with "Yes, it does," "No, it doesn't."

    Method 3: As a pair work activity, each student takes five or six cards, learns their meanings and shows one of the cards to the partner. The partner tries to guess the meaning and the owner offers several example sentences to assist. If the partner arrives at the correct meaning of the idiom, an example sentence should be created as well.

    Method 4: To teach idioms in a whole class setting, the teacher randomly selects one of the Idiom Cards, reads it and makes sure that all students have written it in their notebooks.
Then the students ask "Does it mean...?" questions and the teacher says, "Yes, it does," "No, it doesn't.," or "Close, but no cigar."

    Method 5: An Idiom a Day: Each lesson, the teacher introduces an idiom (using a similar procedure as Method 4 above) but stops with only one idiom. On the next day, the previous idiom is reviewed, students use it in a sentence and then a new one is introduced. Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

Based on the popular TV game Jeopardy, students, in teams, compete against each other to be able to ask the accurate question. In this game, one team reads the answer from the card. For example: Yes, I do. It turned into a pumpkin.

That seems simple enough, right? But in order for the opposing team to ask the correct question, it needs to be phrased exactly so that it fits the answer. If the opposing team asks: What happened to Cinderella? - the question does not fit the answer. (The answer begins with Yes, I do.)

Likewise, if the opposing teams asks: Do you know what happened to Cinderella? - again, the question does not fit the answer because Cinderella did not turn into pumpkin!

To ask the correct question, it must be phrased like this: Do you know what happened to Cinderella's carriage (at midnight)? Now, the answer: Yes, I do. It turned into a pumpkin, is perfect.

Getting the correct phraseology can be a lot more difficult than one might expect, even for more advanced learners. And, because this is a competition, that's what makes this lesson so fun! Back to Top

Time: Varies
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

A favorite lesson among students, Problem Solvers gives a small group of English learners the chance to role play a variety of problems. The group receives a stack of 16 cards with a unique problem printed on each.

One student picks a random Problem Solvers card and reads it to her group-mates. The other students ask all kinds of questions to get as many details as possible before they offer suggestions as to how to solve the problem.

The student with the problem tries to answer the questions in a believable role-play manner. When there are no further questions, students compete to offer the best solution to the problem they can think of.

This is a wonderfully natural way for students to communicate with each other by asking for information and offering suggestions. Even though the problems are role-play situations, students often become very involved and push themselves to the limits of their abilities in order to assist one of their classmates.

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